Salvation
by xxYumiHeartxx
Summary: After being abused constantly by her boyfriend Shinji, Hikari is finally free. However, the experience has left her numb and like a completely different person. Can Satoshi help her overcome all her painful memories from the past? Pearlshipping.


**Salvation**

A/N: All right, everyone. This is my first fanfic ever, so please try to be nice in your reviews. Ikarishippers, you probably shouldn't read this. I don't own the Pokemon games or anime or characters.

**Chapter 1: Without Hope**

Hikari stumbled hurriedly into her bedroom and flicked on the light switch quickly as she entered. Her chest was heaving up and down as she gasped for air, clutching to the material over her chest. She locked the door with desperate, fumbling fingers and then sat against it, hissing slightly due to the countless number of bruises and scars scattered all over her body. Some appeared to be healing slightly, but the rest were brand new and stinging like red-hot pokers against her skin. Her appearance itself was pitiful overall, to say the least. She would've been horrified if she could see her hair, which looked utterly disheveled and almost beyond hope of fixing. Her black tank top was ripped in numerous places, and one of the stringy straps of her undershirt had snapped, leaving it in a lopsided, uncomfortable position against her torso. Her pretty pink boots were nowhere to be seen, as were her black stockings, and her miniskirt was grimy and covered in patches of dirt and filth. Gripped in her right hand was a small photo that was fading and fragile. She also held her left arm, which was in a strange, rickety shape and deathly pale all over. She inspected the injured arm for a moment before returning to her sorrowful, glum position against the door.

"Hikari! Hikari! I know you're in there! You better come out right now or I'm busting this door down!" Hikari's body shook slightly as the door she was leaning on was knocked upon violently, causing the wooden frame to shake and the doorknob to rattle in its place. She squeezed her eyes shut, as if trying to block out that terrible voice and forget all the horrible, unimaginable events that had transpired. She tried to cover her ears, but her broken arm made that impossible.

"Hikari! Open this damn door right now!" The voice was angrier now. She tried to ignore it desperately, but to no avail. The pounding continued, harder, and Hikari covered her eyes with her right hand, resting her left arm against her chest. Shining tears leaked out of the side of her eyes and trickled down her cheek before plummeting to the floor in tiny little droplets. Weeping quietly, she clutched the material over her chest again, but not because of shortness of breath. It was instead the complete sense of hopelessness that had a death grip on her wavering heart that seemed to constrict her breath and muddle her thoughts. She didn't know what to do.

The pounding fists against the door had now turned into violent kicks that left large dent marks in the flimsy wood. Hikari wiped her damp cheeks and braced herself, planting her bare feet firmly on the ground to hold against the man behind the door. He was swearing at her profusely, making frightening promises to kill her once he got through into her room. Hikari knew that they were not empty promises. She had, after all, never seen him so angry before in her life. Just a few hours ago, his dark black eyes had been clouded with complete rage as he struck her over and over again.

"You knew what would happen if you disobeyed me!" he had yelled at her. "You're worthless, you know that? Nobody loves you. No one cares whether you live or die." Those harsh, cold-hearted words had seared through her mind and left her completely numb. He hit her again and again, and she hadn't known how to escape. Finally, she'd managed to tear herself out of his grasp and race upstairs into her room and lock the door.

The wood was starting to splinter now as his kicks into the door came harder and faster. The sharp pieces of wood dug into Hikari's back, but she tried to ignore the pain, gritting her teeth together to keep from crying out. A few more moments of this and she would end up unconscious, and who knew what he would do with her unconscious body. She had no choice.

Hikari quietly dusted herself off, smoothed down her crumpled skirt, attempted to tame her frazzled hair and got a solid hold onto her broken arm. With a weary, shuddering breath, she stood up from the floor and turned around.

When he walked into her room, he appeared utterly calm, as if he had simply come to have a casual little chat with her. He approached her, looking at her hungrily with his dark, coal-like eyes. One of his hands moved below her chin and lifted her face up so he could smash his hard lips down on hers in an agonizing, stinging kiss that had Hikari desperately trying to push him off of her. She recoiled away from him afterwards and he smirked haughtily at her frightened, wide-eyed expression. Then, in one swift movement, he jerked his arm around and slapped her across the face.

"You're in for it now," he murmured in his sickly, velvety voice as Hikari reeled from the blow. He leaned in closer and held his lips next to her ear to speak again. "I'm going to kill you, Hikari."

She trembled like a leaf for a moment and then cast her eyes down at the small photo she'd kept in her hand this whole time. On it, the small faces of her Pokemon and a very familiar raven-haired boy could be seen. Glancing at that boy's comforting face made Hikari cry all over again. Her tears fell onto the photo.

"That's right, Hikari. Keep on crying."

She kept her eyes steadfastly on the photo, refusing to allow the face of this horrible man before her be the last thing she saw before her death. She shifted slightly, preparing to feel the impact of his fists against her body for the last time. From the corners of her eyes, she saw his hand curl into an iron hard grip and rise menacingly into the air. After one more look at the faces on the photo, Hikari closed her eyes and waited.

The blow never came. Instead, there was an enormous crashing sound, followed by two easily recognizable voices yelling at the top of their lungs.

"Get away from her, Shinji!"

Hikari's eyes fluttered open in complete shock and it took a moment for her to process was occurring before her. Satoshi and Takeshi had stormed into the room with blazing looks on their faces, followed by their Pokemon, who marched in like an army. A multitude of attacks from the Pokemon sent the very surprised Shinji sprawling to the floor, but he was quick to get back on his feet. Takeshi acted immediately and snatched Shinji by the arms, holding them firmly behind his back. He quickly pushed the purple-haired trainer out the broken door and down the stairs along with all the Pokemon, who were staring at Shinji with unmistakably hateful expressions.

Meanwhile, Satoshi was gazing at Hikari with a tender expression on his face as he slowly approached her. His hands were outstretched towards her, inching closer as he neared.

"It's okay now, Hikari," he whispered in a soothing voice. "It's all right, come here. I promise I'll keep you safe." Hearing that voice and seeing that face spread some much-needed warmth throughout her quivering heart. She timidly placed her trembling fingers into his warm palm. His hand closed around hers as gently as possible and he pulled her softly towards him and drew her into his comforting embrace. Hikari melted against Satoshi's body. She began to cry in earnest, gulping in large, hiccupping breaths, and he was immensely patient, smoothing her hair and murmuring reassurances. Still holding her in his arms with her face buried in the crook of his neck and shoulder, Satoshi quietly guided her downstairs and outside, where Takeshi and the Pokemon were waiting.

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A/N: This might've been a little confusing, but you'll find out what's going on in Ch. 2. Thanks for reading, please review!


End file.
